


Spinel Appreciation Week

by TheKitsune



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, She deserves so much love, Spinel Appreciation Week!, Spinel Gets Lots of Love!, Spinel Harem!, Spinel!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-01 08:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20812187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKitsune/pseuds/TheKitsune
Summary: We all know that Spinel deserves so much love after everything that happened to her! Well this week gives us the chance to do just that...well allows various Steven Universe characters to show Spinel, whether it be platonic or romantic.Here is the week:Sep 29 - Being Loved (Spinel receiving love from her friends or Diamond family)Sep 30 - AU (Any alternate universe you all can think of, Crystal Gem Spinel, Crossover AU, just an AU where Spinel is happy and given lots of love)Oct 1 - Hobbies/Activites (Things that make her happy)Oct 2 - Pairings (Your favorite Spinel pairing!)Oct 3 - Hugs (Spinel receiving hugs from others)Oct 4 - Hang Outs (Spinel hanging out with her friends)Oct 5 - Introduction to Anime (Basically Spinel gets introduced to anime by someone, becomes obsessed, and obsesses over it while her friend is amused)Oct 6 - Spinel (Free Day. Do whatever you want to show Spinel love)





	1. Being Loved

**Author's Note:**

> Finally Spinel Appreciation Week begins! I've been waiting since I announced I was doing this to begin! ^^ I love Spinel and think she deserves to be happy which is why I came up with the idea for this week.  
If you want any information about the week it's on my profile on tumblr ^^  
Well, Day 1 begins!

Spinel sighed as she sat on the railing of a nearby pathway. Looking up at the sky, she began to count the stars...or at least whatever she was able to make out in the sky. Thousands of years of doing nothing, but standing in one place, and she never really noticed how beautiful stars looked from afar.

Looking down, she saw various gems happily walking around Homeworld. Various fusions living among regular gems without fear. She let out a sad smile. Homeworld really has changed from what it once was. Or at least, from what she knew of it. She rarely ever left the garden with Pink Diamond after all.

Feeling a pang in her gem, she brought one of her gloved hands up and grasped at her heart-shaped gem. It still hurt to think about her. She had problems controlling her emotions over certain subjects still. She still finds it awkward when Steven contacts her. She hates to come off as rude, but it was hard to speak to the boy that she attempted to kill as well as destroy his planet because of something Pink did to her.

A wet sensation met her cheeks which earned a small sigh. Tears. Something she has become accustomed to over the months that she has been in Homeworld. Not that the Diamonds or any of her new Pearl friends were awful. No, they were great. The Diamonds did mess up at times, but she knew that they were still working on themselves so she never held it against them. And they always made it up to her if they accidentally hurt her in some way.

No the tears...they were always caused by her memories, by the dreams that she would have after taking up sleeping, and the thoughts. It was so hard to feel like she was really worthy of having friends or a family. In a way, she was still jealous of Steven as well. He had such a great family on Earth. One that she didn't feel like she could be part of...

Hugging her knees with her head ducked down inbetween, Spinel let out soft sobs.

"Spinel?" she heard a gentle voice which caused her to pause. Before she knew it, two arms wrapped around her from behind. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw twin-tailed buns and white skin.

"Pearls?" Spinel softly asked as she brought her head up. Pink Pearl was one of the first true friends that she made after arriving, especially, after hearing about her past with their Diamond. They really bonded over that. She also was the one to properly introduce her to Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl. Sure the Diamonds introduced Spinel to the two, but they quickly left with Spinel afterwards which prevented the friendly gem from greeting them.

"Are you crying again?" At the silence, Pink Pearl frowned and hugged Spinel tighter which earned a light blush on Spinel's cheeks. "You know you're worthy of all the friends you made Spinel. We all care about you. I care about you, Blue cares about you, Yellow cares about, and...the Diamonds care about you as well..." Spinel had to hold back a light giggle. Pink Pearl made her distaste of the Diamonds rather obvious. Even to their faces. The only reason they bite their tongue about it is because all of them, especially White Diamond, know they deserve it for everything they have done.

Spinel looked away though and let the intrusive feelings back in for only a few moments which was long enough as she began shaking. Pink Pearl saw this and slowly began to run her hand through Spinel's hair before petting her head. This always helped calm the gem down.

"What if...what if I can never have a family like Steven? I...I just want friends and a family Pearls..." Spinel quietly stated. Pink Pearl smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around Spinel again.

"But Spinel...you already have one. It's quite dysfunctional, and we have the Diamonds in it...but it's a family. Yellow, Blue, myself, we are all part of your family. You've been building it piece by piece since you have arrived. Sure we aren't as close as Steven is with his family, but all we need is more time. Just remember Spinel, no matter what bad thoughts you might have. We all love you," Pink Pearl reassured Spinel causing the gem to tear up before turning herself around in the hug and looping her arms around Pink Pearl several times to give her special Spinel-brand hug.

Smiling at the giggle erupting from Pink Pearl, Spinel slipped even further into the embrace.

Maybe....maybe things really aren't as bad. And maybe these memories will stop restricting her as she slowly moves forward and makes peace with her past. She had people who truly cared about her. People who really care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my submission for the first day of Spinel Appreciation Week ^^ The Spinearl interaction in here can be taken as platonic or romantic honestly. I love the pairing, but I didn't write this thinking of the two as a pairing in it, but it can be taken as such.  
I hope everyone joins in on this week. If anyone posts anything, try and tell me so I can check it out whether it's on here or on tumblr! ^^  
Also Pearls is Spinel's nickname for Pink Pearl since the shortened version of just Pink...would cause some rather sad feelings.


	2. AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 is here! And today's prompt is AU (Alternate Universe). Just pick an alternate universe to write or draw about that has Spinel receiving love whether it is platonic, romantic, or familial.  
Enjoy!

Gripping at her hair, Spinel felt tears forming in her eyes. The meeting from before...that was not how she wanted it to go. After several years, she finally met her birth mother, Rose, otherwise known as Pink. Her adoptive mothers, Yellow and Blue, were able to locate her and get in contact with her. Spinel was nervous, but also somewhat upset as she was driven to the woman's house. Memories of her childhood, memories of her mother playing games with her, memories of her mom telling her to wait and she would come back, days passing as she began starving, and finally waking up in the hospital with her neighbor telling her what happened.

She bit her lip at the memory. After twelve years, Spinel was not completely sure what drove her to asking her mothers to find her birth mother, but she knew that some part of her wanted closure. As well as answers. All she got was depression at seeing the happy family the woman had now, a half brother who seemed much too eager at bonding with his new older sister, and some apology that sounded too nonchalant to her for it to be real.

Head snapping up as memories of a slap and a door slamming open flashed through her mind as guilt flooded her.

"Spinny?" a voice piped up from behind her which caused her to freeze momentarily while her sobs slowed down. Before she could do anything, another voice piped up, "Spinel? What's wrong?!" Turning her head, she saw her two best friends, Pearl, one of several in her high school, so Spinel referred to her as Pearls to help differentiate her in conversations, and her other best friend, Garnet. She was a tall girl who always wore sunglasses yet had a large almost cotton candy colored afro.

She met Pearls and Garnet in middle school shortly after being adopted, and the two were always there for her. She wouldn't be lying if she said that she trusted them more than anyone else, even her adoptive mothers. Spinel smiled lightly as the happy memories of the three flashed through her mind. Before she could say anything, the two had her wrapped in a tight hug while making sure to hug her close.

Smiling lightly at this, Spinel ducked her head as a thought passed through her mind.

_"My mother might have gave me up and started a new life, but my life is probably better now than it ever would have been. With my real mothers and my two best friends, I know my life will just continue to improve from here." _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this one! Sorry it is shorter than the last one, but I still hope you all liked it ^^  
I hope everyone is enjoying this week! And I hope to see others join in :)


	3. Hobbies/Activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late! I was not feeling well yesterday so I wasn't able to write it. It's not the best of my prompts so far, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Spinel did not know when she took up the hobby. It started off as a time waster when she wasn't spending time with the Diamonds. After the first few times, she found herself growing fond of it.

Bringing the camera up, she zoomed in on one of the newest features of Homeworld. Sticking her tongue out as she focused on the shot, she was in her own little zone as she wanted to make sure the picture turned out okay.

As she nodded in satisfaction, she was about to press the button to take the shot only to yelp as she heard, "Spinel!" Camera flung into the air, Spinel gasped as her hand shot up and barely caught it before it fell down the side of the hill she was on. Sighing in relief, she looked over and saw a slightly sheepish Pink Pearl scratching the back of her head.

"Sorry about that Spinel. I didn't notice your camera," Pink Pearl apologized which caused Spinel to chuckle and pat the gem's head making her blush lightly.

"It's alright Pearls. I just wanted to head out and take a few shots of different Homeworld locations that didn't exist when I was last here," Spinel told Pink Pearl who just nodded in acknowledgement. As Spinel brought her camera back up and got back into her 'zone,' Pink Pearl watched her from the side with a small smile. Ever since she first met the pink jokester, Pink Pearl had noticed that nearly every one of her smiles were almost forced or were hiding a lot of pain.

When she found out what happened to her in the past, Pink Pearl would not be lying if she said that she felt some intense rage for a brief moment directed at the Diamond she used to love. Seeing how hurt and broken Spinel was even in the presence of her new family (who Pink Pearl still disliked) or her friends, she was happy to see something that made Spinel happy. The calm aura that seemed to radiate from the gem as she focused on taking her photo and the bright smile on her face, it made Pink Pearl happy to see her friend like this.

"Hey Pearls! Since you're here, you want to be in the photo?" Spinel yelled over to Pink Pearl who gasped in surprise. Pointing at herself to make sure that Spinel was serious, she smiled when Spinel nodded and rushed over to get in the shot.

Bringing the camera back up, Spinel smiled lightly as she whispered to herself, "Beautiful," right before pressing the button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, sorry it's kind of rushed, but I still hope you guys enjoy it! Also I double posted today since I had today's prompt to do as well so check it out!


	4. Pairings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the one that I have been looking forward to! Pairings! I am a multi Spinel shipper so...I hope you all enjoy!  
Side note, I also uploaded Day 3 today so if you haven't read it, make sure to go back and read it.

Spinel blushed as she felt Garnet wrap her arms around her tighter. She was still surprised at her new relationship or should she say relationships...

"Gaaarrrnettt, it's my turn to hold Spinel," Lapis complained causing Spinel's cheeks to to turn an ever darker shade as Lapis tried to pull Spinel out of the fusion's embrace only to yelp as Garnet pulled Lapis into the hug on top of Spinel who yelped at the sudden movement.

"You just had to ask, and I'd let you into the hug," Garnet chuckled as she rubbed both gems heads while Lapis huffed and Spinel ducked her head in embarrassment. She still wasn't sure how this happened. Memories of various confessions of love coming her way popped into her mind followed by a memory of them agreeing to all date her. Covering her face as her blush grew, she felt a hand on her back. Peeping through a crack in her hand, she saw Lapis looking down at her with a smile.

"You still shy Spinel?" Lapis asked the gem who slowly nodded her head which earned her a chuckle from the other two. Before she knew what was happening, Lapis lifted Spinel up and onto her lap while resting against Garnet who changed positions to better suit this. 

"I know you're still new to this whole 'relationship' thing Spinel, but I promise things will just get better from here...even though having more than one girlfriend is rather new," Lapis reassured the blushing gem while running her hand through Spinel's hair. Garnet smiled as she brought one of her own hands up to run it through Spinel's hair as well.

Spinel's blush grew, but she felt herself calm down as she slowly fell back against Lapis while her girlfriends petted her head. Sighing happily, she smiled as she rested against them.

"While I am thinking about, where is Pink Pearl? She's usually here with us when we got on snuggly with Spinel?" Lapis asked Garnet while looking back at her. Garnet stayed silent for a moment before pointing to the right where Pink Pearl suddenly ran into view.

"I...I'm so sorry! I got lost! Wahhhh!!!! You already started the cuddle pile? Let me in! Let me in!" Pink Pearl pouted as she rushed over and pretty much jumped on top of Spinel and Lapis causing them to let out an 'oomph!'

"Pink! You know I told you to not do that!" Lapis groaned as she glared down at Pink Pearl who stuck her tongue out in retaliation. Spinel just groaned before nearly letting out a purr of delight as she felt Garnet gently pet her head to help soothe the pain.

"Hmph, you're still jealous that I kissed Spinel first," Pink Pearl looked to the side with a smirk on her face causing Lapis to gape with a blush on her face before growling while Spinel hid her face again as the memory came back to her. As Lapis was about to tackle Pink Pearl, Garnet brought her free hand down to keep Lapis from making any sudden movement.

"Lapis, you shouldn't let Pink get to you like that. We both know she likes teasing you," Lapis calmed down while Pink Pearl let out a slight whine at her fun being ruined, "Besides, we all know that I was Spinel's first kiss."

Lapis and Pink Pearl both froze before looking up at the smirking fusion who just stood up and brought Spinel up into her arms bridal style. "See you two back at the temple," Garnet stated before walking off with a blushing Spinel in her arms. 

The two remaining gems looked over at each other in shock before shooting to their feet and chasing after Garnet in need of some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Some Spinel Harem shipping! I love each of these individual pairings so I thought...why not make this a harem for Spinel? She's so shy it's adorable really ^^


	5. Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm extremely late with the first three of these while on time with the last one! Sorry for the wait!

Spinel has always enjoyed hugs. The hugs that she shared with Pink Diamond back in the garden were great, even if the memory of them were now stained with awful feelings. The hugs she shared with Steven and the others after being reset were great even though they did not really reciprocate them with her. The feeling was nice. The hug she shared with the Diamonds once returning to Homeworld was certainly new as she never hugged such tall people before, but it was still great.

Spinel had the urge to hug and receive hugs embedded in her, and she did not hate it. It was nice to feel someone show you affection or comfort by wrapping you in their arms. She always tried to hug others to make them feel better if she saw they were sad. Blue Pearl appreciated it, but Yellow Pearl was not so happy the first few times. She finally wore her down though much to Blue Pearl's amusement. Pink Pearl was very eager to give and receive hugs from Spinel much to her joy. There was something about her that just struck Spinel's fancy.

She always gave the Diamonds a hug before heading off to sleep, an activity she found herself participating in after Amethyst introduced her to it when visiting Earth one day. Blue Diamond was always eager to hug Spinel back while Yellow and White were slightly more awkward and hesitant thanks to their lack of displaying affection for so long, but Spinel knew she was getting through to them.

Steven was the first person on Earth to hug her when she first visited them after the whole 'Injector' thing. He said it was something that he regretted not doing before she left which she laughed off. She didn't think much of it, but it was nice to see that he definitely did not hold everything against her like she feared.

To her surprise, Garnet was the next one to hug her. And it was completely out of the blue too. After speaking with Steven, she was heading out to look around Earth some more since she didn't see much of it while reset. Before she could leave his house though, she found herself pulled into the strong embrace of the fusion who gave her a small smile. She found herself struck silent at the whole thing much to her embarrassment, but Garnet seemed to find it amusing as she ruffled her hair and walked off afterwards. The feeling in her chest after the whole thing left her quite confused as it was similiar to what she felt around Pink Pearl.

The next was Lapis who also forgave her. Almost immediately in fact. She didn't give a reason why, but did offer to hear her out if she ever felt like talking more about her past with someone. Before she flew off, she wrapped Spinel in a hug catching her offguard much to Lapis's amusement. Before Spinel could react, the gem had let go and flown off.

Slowly, but surely the rest of the gems and human friends of Steven's forgave her as well, and she slowly found herself receiving and dishing out hugs more and more much to her enjoyment. She really was an affectionate gem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one as well the next few!


	6. Hang Outs

Spinel found herself shaking while looking around nervously. She was on Earth again. Part of her had told her to run and head back to Homeworld before they attacked her as revenge for what she had done. The other part of her was trying to calm her down and convince her that she was safe. They forgave her. Looking all around her, she saw the core Crystal Gems members talking amongst each other while they sat at the cafe's table. Looking down again, she rubbed her arm while slightly chewing on her bottom lip.

Looking up, Steven spotted this and quickly reached out to her. Seeing her flinch at his sudden action, he paused before slowly continuing while making sure to gently lay his hand on her shoulder. "Spinel, what have you been doing since we last saw you?" Steven asked her. Spinel saw that all eyes were on her making her even more nervous, but she knew she had to answer.

"I...I have been spending time with the Diamonds and the Pearls back on...back on Homeworld," Spinel hesitantly answered. Steven smiled at her while Garnet nodded her head. Pearl had a concerned look, but she smiled back at Spinel and muttered a quiet 'That sounds nice.' Amethyst leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"That sounds boring!" Amethyst complained causing Spinel's head to drop. Pearl glared down at the short gem and smacked her head causing her to let out a yelp. "What was that for?!"

"What you said was rude and uncalled for. I'm sure Spinel has been having a lot of fun on Homeworld with them. Just because you have different tastes in fun doesn't mean what Spinel likes is boring," Pearl began lecturing Amethyst who glared back up at her with an annoyed look.

Groaning into his palm, Steven sent Spinel a 'sorry' look as the two gems began arguing with each other. As they continued, Garnet gently reached over and rested her hand on Spinel's shoulder making her look over at her in shock.

"I'm happy you've found something that makes you happy Spinel," Garnet simply stated which caused Spinel to shoot her a small smile. Seeing this, Garnet smiled back and gave one last remark, "Make sure to come visit again. I'm sure the next time we all hang out, things will be just as entertaining as today."

Looking back at Pearl and Amethyst, who had began arguing about random things that had nothing to do with what started the conversation, Spinel smiled and rested her head on her arms as she leaned over on the table.

"Yeah...I hope it is to."


	7. Intro to Anime

Spinel found herself entranced by what she was watching. She had visited Earth a week ago and was dragged to Little Homeworld by Peridot who had wished to show her something. Apparently after Steven informed her about Spinel's skill with a scythe, Peridot had been impatiently waiting to introduce her to a show, well 'anime' according to Peridot, by the name of Soul Eater. Spinel was confused, but she didn't want to disappoint the little gem since she had been so excited to have her watch it.

So she found herself sitting down with Peridot and Lapis as they turned on their laptop. The anime began, and Spinel found it interesting...only to slowly become hooked. The trio binge watched the entire series before Lapis spoke up and wanted to pick the next anime to watch. The next thing they turned on was an anime by the name of 'My Hero Academia.' The plot intrigued Spinel, and she instantly found herself rooting for the protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, to achieve his dream. Plus she did side with Lapis on the fact that Tsuyu was best girl in the series much to Peridot's frustration that they didn't agree with her choice of Mei Hatsume.

After that series ended, both characters brought up an anime where the main character reminded them a lot of Steven when he was younger. Intrigued by this, Spinel agreed and fell in love with this anime too! 'Mob Psycho 100' was an instant favorite. And Spinel agreed with Lapis and Peridot. She would fight and protect Mob at any cost. He was a good boy.

Amazed that such amazing shows existed in the anime genre, Spinel was sucked into more and more anime. Time became irrelevant as she focused nothing, but the story of the anime that she was watching. Allowing herself to casually fall into a 'cuddle pile' with Lapis and Peridot was the furthest thing from her mind as she became more addicted.

'Outside of the Trio'

"Yeah Steven, she's here with Peridot and Lapis. Yeah, yeah, tell them that she's fine. I'll try to snap her out of her 'anime' addiction. Yeah, I know it won't be easy. When Peri and Lapis first discovered it, it took me a day to drag them back to the real world. Spinel seems even more addicted than them," Bismuth explained to Steven over the phone. Hearing his response, Bismuth let out a chuckle as she glanced back over at the three.

"Don't worry, I'll take a picture of them before I get to work on snapping them out of it. They look too adorable all snuggled together like that to miss the opportunity. Yes, I'll send it to you...Garnet wants a copy too? Okay, don't worry. Yeah, I'll see you soon," hanging up, Bismuth brought the phone up and snapped a couple of shots before placing it in a holder she made. Stretching her arms, she began making her way over to the anime addicted gems, "Lets get to work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to make ^^ I hope we see some Anime Fan! Spinel in the future! Maybe an Anime Gem Club with her, Lapis, and Peridot?


	8. Free Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last submission for this week. I hope you all enjoy

Spinel smiled as she cuddled up against the quiet Garnet. The fusion's arm was wrapped around her and pulled her close as they rested in Steven's home and watched a movie. She honestly did not know when it started, maybe it had to do with the friendship they had while reset, but Spinel had found herself drawn to the fusion. She was the only one besides Steven in the Crystal Gems who had wanted to help her. It...it was nice. It didn't stop the fear from building in her though at the idea of being friends for real with her. What if...what if she didn't want a friendship? What if it ended with her being left alone again? The idea scared her...

So when Garnet had made the first move in striking a friendship with her, Spinel had no idea what to do. Since she was so shocked, she barely remembered saying yes and agreeing to meet Garnet somewhere to hang out. After Garnet left, Spinel freaked out and ran to Homeworld for some 'alone' time to try and calm down before heading back to Earth to meet with Garnet. Sadly, the Diamonds could easily see something was bothering her when she returned, and she found herself being smothered in concerned affection.

It was nice, but she still wanted time to think about what to do. Surprisingly, Yellow Diamond was the one who convinced Blue and White that they should give Spinel some space. As they left, Yellow sent her a wink which made Spinel smile in appreciation.

She didn't remember how, but she had finally calmed herself down enough to head back to Earth and meet up with Garnet without making a total fool out of herself. The whole time, she involuntarily acted clumsy thanks to her nervousness, but Garnet had apparently thought it was cute as she often giggled whenever Spinel slipped in surprise or tried to do something people do normally only to mess up. It made Spinel blush for most of the day.

To Spinel's surprise, Garnet enjoyed their time together and asked to hang out again. Spinel just nodded hesitantly before the realization of what was happening flashed through her mind. She held Garnet's right hand and agreed in a much more energetic manner much to Garnet's amusement.

After a couple more months, Spinel was surprised once more when Garnet was the one to approach her and ask if she'd like to be her girlfriend. Since Spinel did not understand it at the time, she responded in the most appropriate manner she knew how at the time, "Aren't I already your girlfriend?" while scratching the top of her head...after making a loop with her arm. Garnet had smiled at the question and shook her head to explain what she meant.

To put it simply, Spinel couldn't speak after Garnet finished. She never thought anybody would....like her like that! Let alone that much! She found herself lacking her voice afterwards which Garnet seemed to realize as she promised to give her some time to think.

After a day, Spinel worked up the nerve to visit Garnet which seemed to surprise the future-seeing gem. Wrapping her arms around the taller gem, she hugged her tightly and tearfully accepted. After taking a moment to regain her bearings, Garnet smiled as she hugged Spinel back.

Spinel had been extremely content and happy ever since, and while Garnet seemed relatively normal, the others could tell she was in a happier mood than normal which made them happy for her as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, Spinel Appreciation Week is over. I'm happy I could write some Spinel content for everyone :)  
I wish others participated so we could all share our love for Spinel, but... oh well I guess.  
I'm just happy you all liked my submissions.  
I hope you all have a good rest of the week :)


End file.
